CLEVELAND — All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis has struggled at the plate for much of the season. Manager Terry Francona has hardly noticed.

“I don’t really look at Kip’s numbers very much because he’s going to play and he’s going to help us win,” Francona said of Kipnis, who is batting .253 with three home runs and 23 RBIs in 60 games. “Regardless of what his batting average is, he’s one of our mainstays and he competes.”

A strained left oblique sidelined Kipnis for close to a month and he’s been slow to find his groove since returning. He entered Saturday batting just .200 (13-for-65) with runners in scoring position.

“I think it’s different with everybody,” Francona said. “Sometimes you see a guy get hot right away and it’s hard to figure. Sometimes it takes a while. I think Kip has been in that mode, where there’s been some inconsistencies. He’s fighting to feel like he wants to feel, and I think missing time doesn’t help that.”

Kipnis has shown signs of life over his last nine games through Friday, batting .289 (11-for-38), with five multihit games over his last nine. He made it six in his last 10 games with a pair of hits Saturday night.

“I think when you see Kip hit the ball to center and to left-center with authority, that’s when he’s getting locked in,” Francona said.

Kipnis’ first hit Saturday was an RBI double to left in the third inning.

Masty’s messDespite an inconsistent effort from ace Justin Masterson, Francona is keeping the faith in the right-hander. Masterson has a 5.16 ERA over 18 starts, while walking a team-high 53 batters over 96 innings.

“I would say command is probably the biggest thing,” Francona said of Masterson’s issues. “I’m sure confidence plays a part in that. Maybe at the end of the year his numbers will be a little bit elevated because of the first couple months, but that doesn’t mean he can’t impact us tremendously. That’s our goal, to keep fighting to get there.

“Masty’s done it before, and I think we all believe he’s going to do it again.”